The IT conglomerate’s $64m CVC subsidiary has made its first impact investment in microfinance service Gojo & Company.
Image of Fujitsu Ventures president and CEO Hideaki Yajima. Courtesy of LinkedIn.
Fujitsu Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of Japanese IT and electronics group Fujitsu, has added impact investing to its mandate.
Fujitsu Ventures will additionally support companies working on solving social issues and sustainability challenges, not necessarily directly related to Fujitsu’s main businesses.
Last month, the unit made its first impact investment in Gojo & Company, a Tokyo-headquartered microfinance company that helps underbanked and low-income households in developing countries like Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Cambodia, India and Tajikistan access financial services.
The impact investment initiative comes a year after Fujitsu defined its sustainability goals. Key themes are solving global environmental issues, developing digital societies and improving people’s well-being.
Many corporates are pivoting to ESG-centred investment theses. For example, oil producer Saudi Aramco has allocated $1.5bn for its Sustainability Fund while pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly’s Social Impact Venture Capital Portfolio has $300m to help US minority groups receive healthcare.
Launched in 2021 and equipped with ¥10bn ($64m today or $90.3m at the time), Fujitsu Ventures initially focused on areas strategic to its parent firm such as hybrid IT, digitalisation and user experience through technologies including computing, network, AI and data.
Led by president and chief executive Hideaki Yajima (pictured), the unit backs companies globally, primarily in Japan, North America, Europe and Israel. Singaporean blockchain trading platform Digital Commodity Exchange and Belgian web3 app development tool provider SettleMint are in its portfolio.
